A company decides to purchase COTS software. This can introduce new security risks to the network. Which of the following is the BEST description of why this is true?

While nearly identical in wording, option A introduces the qualifier 'typically' which weakens the statement and makes it less precise as a technical explanation for why COTS introduces risk.

This is factually incorrect - COTS software is by definition commercially mass-produced and widely distributed, not obscure or limited in availability.

This option is functionally a duplicate of D in the question as presented; D is designated the canonical correct answer in this exam context.

COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) software is well known and widely available, meaning its codebase, vulnerabilities, and default configurations are publicly accessible to both defenders and attackers. This broad exposure results in a larger pool of known exploits and attack techniques that threat actors can readily apply against organizations running the software.